1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to covers for steering wheels and also to hand wheels of any type having a shape similar to steering wheels upon which a cover may be desired.
2. Description of Prior Art
It has long been recognized that the addition of a cover to a hard-surfaced steering wheel offers improved grip and increased comfort to the driver. Accordingly, the prior art discloses a number of different steering wheel covers. The covers disclosed in the prior art generally fall into one of the following two categories: (1) covers which are held in place by elastic or adhesive means, and (2) covers which are held in place by lacing.
The most common design for the lace-on type of cover has perforations along the edges of the cover for the purpose of interlacing and pulling the two edges toward each other. A problem common to prior art lace-on covers is tearing at the perforations. This tearing is caused by failure of the walls of the perforations due to excessive strain imposed by the lacing. Since a snug fit is dependent upon tight lacing, durability must be sacrificed if a proper fit is to be had. Certain prior art lace-on cover designs have attempted to alleviate the tearing problem by wrapping a continuous length of lace around the outside of the cover in a helical fashion. This outside helical wrapping keeps the cover from slipping and thus eliminates the need for interlacing between the edges. The outside helical wrap-around lacing, however, interferes with the otherwise smooth gripping surface of the cover material.
The covers disclosed in the prior art are all distinguishable from the instant invention in that none discloses or even suggests the use of a flexible cord mounted within the hems which, when the edges are interlaced, serves the dual function of tensioning the cover and relieving stress on the walls of the perforations.